The present invention relates generally to interior trim panels for vehicles and, more particularly, to a method of making an interior trim panel for a vehicle.
It is known to provide an interior trim panel for a vehicle to present an aesthetically pleasing appearance in an occupant compartment of the vehicle. The interior trim panel typically includes a trim blank attached to a carrier or substrate by several different conventional processes including adhesives, heat staking, sonic welding, and fasteners. The interior trim panel may be mounted to structure of the vehicle such as an inner door panel of a door for the vehicle by suitable means such as fasteners.
It is also known to use an open-mold process to form a trim panel. Typically, a mold is provided and extrusion deposition compression molding (EDCM) is used to form interior trim panels that do not present xe2x80x9cdie-lockxe2x80x9d conditions during molding, such as a turned-down flange.
Although the above interior trim panel and method of making has worked, it is desirable to provide a method for molding a trim panel with a turned-down flange. It is also desirable to provide an interior trim panel with reduced scrap, improved quality, and fewer manufacturing steps. It is further desirable to reduce the costs associated with the manufacture of an interior trim panel. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide an improved method of making an interior trim panel for a vehicle.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a new method of making an interior trim panel for a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of making an interior trim panel with a turned-down flange using ECDM.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method of making an interior trim panel that has less cost.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention is a method of making an interior trim panel for attachment to structure of a vehicle. The method includes the steps of loading a trim blank into a cavity of a mold and loading an edge of the trim blank on a movable slide of the mold. The method also includes the steps of depositing a molten thermoplastic material onto a core of the mold and partially closing the mold. The method further includes the steps of moving the slide into a channel of the core, completely closing the mold, and forcing the molten plastic material into a down-turned flange area of the mold to form the interior trim panel with a down-turned flange.
One advantage of the present invention is that an improved method of making an interior trim panel is provided for a vehicle. Another advantage of the present invention is that the method of making the interior trim panel allows for low-pressure, extrusion deposition compression molding (EDCM) of an interior trim panel with a down-turned flange. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the method does not require separate adhesion methods because the trim adheres to the flange area due to the molding process, reducing cost. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the method of making the interior trim panel reduces cost and achieves quality benefits over current methods. A further advantage of the present invention is that the method of making the interior trim panel reduces scrap and requires fewer manufacturing steps, resulting in a cost savings.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.